Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Bath
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Bath restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 27 restaurants in Bath and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Bath restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Bath Restaurants
1. The Olive Tree, Queensberry Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
Russell St - BA1
“An incredible, unpretentious dining experience” with “varied and sumptuous tastes and service that’s attentive but not fussy” is hailed in all reports on Chris Cleghorn’s long-established venue. “The nine-course tasting menu is imaginative, beautifully presented and very tasty with some unusual flavours” (it’s £160 per person, with a six-course option available for £130, and other cheaper menus available at lunchtime and earlier in the week). It’s located in the cellar of a ‘proudly independent’ boutique hotel and is currently the city’s only establishment to hold a Michelin star.
2. Flute
restaurant in Bath
9 Edgar Buildings, George Street - BA1
Flute is a distinctive all-day seafood destination in the heart of Bath offering Cornish seafood, an extensive selection of wines and cocktails with a kick. Flute consistently sources the freshest fish from Devon and Cornwall and...
3. Robun
Japanese restaurant in Bath
4 Princes Building, George Street - BA1
Too limited feedback for a rating, but that which we received is promising on this central Japanese two-year-old, which – as well as offering sushi – specialises in Yakiniku, which is cooking over charcoal (it’s named for the Japanese food writer who introduced western-style BBQ into Japan in the 1870s).
4. The Scallop Shell
Fish & seafood restaurant in Bath
22 Monmouth Place - BA1
This “exceptional” and rather posh chippy is reputedly MPW’s favourite restaurant in the region, and all of the many reporters who commented on it this year praised its “truly excellent” food (“whether you opt for fish ’n’ chips or grilled skate wing, it’ll impress!”). In recent years, they’ve added a roof terrace – plus a sibling, The Oyster Shell, near the Theatre Royal, which offers fishy treats and fritters to go.
5. Green Park Brasserie
Burgers, etc restaurant in Bath
Green Park Station - BA1
“A good, no-nonsense place to eat, with outside heaters” – this local landmark is housed in an old 1870s station on the fringe of the city centre (next to the old Ironbridge railway line) and is celebrating over 30 years in business. Billing itself as a steakhouse and jazz bar – and they also do a good line in pizza – it doesn’t aim for foodie fireworks, but is well-rated across the board.
6. Dough
Pizza restaurant in Bath
14-16 The Corridor - BA1
2021 Review: The USP of this “very relaxed” yet “lively” Bath pizzeria is the ability to choose your dough as well as the topping on your pizza; not just regular and gluten-free, they also offer hemp, seaweed, black rice and turmeric bases, plus distinctly adventurous toppings (“who knew pistachios on a pizza could be so amazing?!”). A Bristol branch opened in March 2019.
7. Chez Dominique
French restaurant in Bath
15 Argyle Street - BA2
“Very enjoyable French food in a convivial atmosphere” ensures the continued high success of Chris Tabbitt (ex-of London haunt Bibendum) and Sarah Olivier’s modern European, est. 2016 and named after their first child. It’s a “comfortable and not showy” sort of place with “casual” service, where no one doubts the “very proficient” cooking (“not cheap, but definitely felt good value for the overall meal”).
8. The Ivy Bath Brasserie
British, Traditional restaurant in Bath
39 Milsom St - BA1
The “gorgeous room” is the highlight of a visit to this popular outpost of the “ever-expanding chain”, whose interior design based on the famous London original in Theatreland trumps the “unremarkable” cuisine. Flexibility is much of the appeal – there’s a “good varied all day menu, plus options for brunch or afternoon tea”.
9. The Pump Room
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
Stall Street - BA1
2022 Review: Taking afternoon tea in this “wonderful Georgian setting with a trio playing during the meal” – and the Roman baths next door – is to wallow in English history, with literary visitors from Jane Austen to Charles Dickens as your guides. The nibbles – “beetroot-cured smoked salmon with homemade blini”, perhaps – are a secondary consideration, “but well worth having!”.
10. Clayton's Kitchen
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
15a George St - BA1
“Buzzy” and “very popular city centre spot” that excels for its “great food, friendly ambience and good value”. Chef-patron Rob Clayton opened it 12 years ago, after seven years as head chef at the Bath Priory Hotel. He has worked in top kitchens for 35 years, including a stint at Chez Nico in London.
11. Colonna & Smalls
Sandwiches, cakes, etc restaurant in Bath
6 Chapel Row - BA1
“If you like coffee, this is the place to go” – founder Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood, three-times UK barista champion, has “unbeatable coffee knowledge” and his “friendly, engaged” staff also “really know their stuff”, which includes some “unusual” beans!
12. Corkage (Chapel Row)
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
5 Chapel Row - BA1
Limited but positive feedback this year on this well-established wine bar and bottle shop, whose distinguishing feature is a large, barn-like extension and terrace that really comes into its own during the warmer months.
13. The Elder at The Indigo Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
2 South Parade - BA2
“Great for game if you are in Bath” – a “pleasant” and clubby hotel-restaurant that’s the brainchild of Mike Robinson, of London’s acclaimed Harwood Arms, and accordingly strong on venison et. al. The venue occupies several adjoining Georgian townhouses, and the victuals are “gusty” and “immensely satisfying”, as The Telegraph’s William Sitwell put it in a Nov 2022 review (also proclaiming that he would “rave about this joint well into the New Year”).
14. Noya's Kitchen
Vietnamese restaurant in Bath
7 Saint James's Parade - BA1
“Brilliant Vietnamese venue, owned by chef Noya who was taught to cook by her mum”. “Honest and fresh-flavoured dishes” are “prepared with flair” in this “vibrant”, “reasonably priced” townhouse restaurant, where the “consistently friendly and enthusiastic service contributes to a lovely experience” – “every time I go here, I come out with a smile!”
15. The Beckford Bottle Shop
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
5-8 Saville Row - BA1
This “interesting restaurant set in a bottle shop” (est. 2015) is part of the Beckford group, which runs four SW England inns, and – as of December 2022 – Bath’s Beckford Canteen, set in a Georgian greenhouse. The “tapas-style food” is “very moreish” and there’s unsurprisingly a “good, reasonably priced wine list” to go with it, making it “very popular” and “deservedly so”.
16. The Circus
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
34 Brock St - BA1
“Pleased to say standards remain high in this popular and much commented-on bistro serving modern European food”, in a useful central location. it’s “one of the best choices in a city served mainly by the chains”.
17. The White Hart Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
Widcombe Hill - BA2
2023 Review: A “quirky and interesting” local with a “good atmosphere” serving a “creative menu, with cooking of a consistent high standard”. It makes a “fantastic pub for Sunday lunch”, with “outstanding roasts”.
18. Marlborough Tavern
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
35 Marlborough Buildings - BA1
This gastropub with a garden, in an attractive setting near Victoria Park, is handy for the city centre and won solid support all-round this year in our annual diners’ poll.
19. Menu Gordon Jones
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
2 Wellsway - BA2
2023 Review: The “food and wine are always interesting” and are “still as good as ever” at engaging Anglo-Scottish chef Gordon Jones’s former sandwich shop on the southern edge of town. There’s “a single tasting menu available” (the only choice is whether to have 7 or 9 courses) and it comes as a complete surprise, with each dish introduced as it arrives at your table (and no vegetarian or other options).
20. Hare & Hounds
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
Lansdown Road - BA1
“Outstanding views from the dining area” and “lovely garden” over the surrounding countryside (top walking territory) characterise this well-liked stone gastroboozer; there are plaudits too for its “small menu of good classics” (plus latterly small plates).
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